Keeping Busy
by jeymien
Summary: Ahamo feels useless, Lavender helps him out. This was written for the Fall Text Challenge 01 at community./tm challenge Famous Last Words Prompt: "Either this wallpaper goes, or I do!" - Wilde, Oscar 1854-1900


**Story Title**: Keeping Busy  
**Author**: Velara  
**Rating**: PG  
**Characters/Ship**: Ahamo/Lavender  
**Disclaimer**: Tin Man is definitely not owned by me, I'm just playing in the sandbox until Sci Fi gets a clue and makes a series.  
**Summary**: Ahamo feels useless, Lavender helps him out. This was written for the Fall Text Challenge 01 at community./tmchallenge  
**Warnings**: preseries

Since they had come back from their honeymoon, he'd felt superfluous. Lavender had been busy day in and day out, while he sat around and looked pretty. He imagined this must be what being a trophy wife was like. As much as he loved being able to sit around for hours painting and drawing the scenery or creating works of art such as sculptures and ceramic, he wanted to feel useful to his new wife and this wonderful land.

So he'd swallowed his pride and one evening as they were going to bed, he turned to his wife to ask, "Isn't there _something_ I can do to help out around here Darling? " Ahamo wisely left out adding that he was going to go mad otherwise.

Lavender had thought for a moment and then said, "Dearest, why don't you decorate our suite? After all, you're an artist! I'm sure you'd do a wonderful job with it!"

For a moment, he'd sat on his side of the bed in shock. He almost recoiled in response to her basically doing the Outer Zone equivalent of sending the wife off with the credit card to decorate the house. That was NOT what he had in mind at all! Did she not know anything! Ahamo opened his mouth to argue with Lavender, but quickly bit off what he was going to say as he looked at his lovely wife. She was practically glowing with happiness at her idea. He couldn't make her sad, not his Lavender. So he swallowed his pride and seriously gave thought to her suggestion. He didn't want to fight and he wanted her happy. Maybe this would be something he'd enjoy. As she said, he was an artist. (No matter that he'd been working balloon rides back home at the carnival; it wasn't like being an artist paid much). He looked around their suite and thought to himself that it was pretty stuffy looking and could definitely use redecoration. His decision was made.

He spent several weeks in planning. His Lavender had trusted him with the decoration of their new suite and he had decided it was going to be a surprise for her. They moved into a guest suite in the palace and every night she asked him, "When will it be ready?"

Ahamo always replied, "Just a little while longer, Darling." He'd found he really was enjoying the work of redecorating. It was an artistic endeavor he'd never had the opportunity to do before.

When he was finished, he proudly showed her into their suite and waited for her reaction. Lavender wandered room to room looking at his arrangements and moving incredibly slowly. There was no reaction on her face and he realized he was holding his breath waiting for her to say something, anything, to him.

After she had viewed the sitting room, the bedroom and the bathroom, she turned to him and gestured at the sitting room walls, "Either this wallpaper goes, or I do!"

Flabbergasted, Ahamo stared at her, "What?" He couldn't believe his ears.

"This color is horrible! It's totally wrong for a sitting room!" Lavender replied abruptly.

"But Darling, look at how it harmonizes with the floor tiles and the furnishings!" Ahamo couldn't believe she was responding like this to his finished designs. He especially couldn't believe she had threatened to _leave_ over wallpaper. This was not what he had imagined at all while he'd been working so hard on creating what he considered as their home!

"It just doesn't look right! I can't live in this!" With that said, Lavender swept from the room towards the guest chambers they had been staying in during the renovations.

Ahamo stood in the midst of his hard labor and surveyed his work critically for what had to be the billionth time. Maybe there was something he could change. Possibly he could use a blue undertone? If his Lavender didn't like it, well, he'd just have to make it perfect for her. He rubbed his hands together and thought about different possibilities.

Once out of the room, Lavender realized she may have been a bit harsh. Briefly, she pondered going back into the room to apologize to him, but then she stopped herself. If she knew her husband, he'd already be busy planning how to redo everything and would be distracted. After all, that had been the plan; to keep him busy with something he'd enjoy doing. All the court duties were so very boring; she didn't want to subject him to that. She decided maybe she could have some fun in making it up to him later. She could try on that new outfit she'd gotten made just for him. Her lavender eyes sparkled in excitement as she made plans for a return to lure her husband away from his project…


End file.
